http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR4/4548468.shtml
第一個太陽系邊界探測器 美將發射

【新華社╱華盛頓10月6日電】 2008.10.07 12:01 pm

 
美國宇航局6日宣佈將於19日發射「星際邊界探測器」，它將飛赴遙遠的太陽系邊界。這將是人類發射的第一個專門探測太陽系與星際空間交界地帶的探測器。

美國宇航局的新聞公報介紹說，這個探測器將採取「空中發射」的方式發射。發射當天，探測器以及負責運載它的「飛馬」火箭，將被裝載在一架L-1011飛機的機翼之下。運載火箭將在太平洋馬紹爾群島的誇賈林環礁上空被釋放，然後把探測器送到距地球約210公里的高度並將其置入飛行軌道。

在火箭與探測器分離後，一個額外的固態電機會再助探測器一臂之力，幫助它脫離近地飛行軌道，踏上遠赴太陽係邊界的征程。在太陽系的邊界地帶，溫度極高的太陽風與冰冷的星際空間物質激烈交互作用。

「星際邊界探測器」項目首席科學家戴維‧麥科馬斯說，太陽系的邊界地帶非常重要，它像一個防護罩一樣，保護太陽系內空間免受銀河系大量危險的宇宙射線侵襲。

「星際邊界探測器」的使命為期兩年，它的任務是在太陽系邊界拍攝圖像進行測繪，幫助科學家了解太陽系和它所處的銀河系之間的相互作用。

【2008/10/07 新華社】

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/themis_power.html
THEMIS Satellites Discover What Triggers Eruptions of the Northern Lights
07.24.08

What causes the shimmering, ethereal Northern Lights to suddenly brighten and dance in a spectacular burst of colorful light and rapid movement? To find out, NASA launched a fleet of five satellites called THEMIS, the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms.

Researchers have discovered that an explosion of magnetic energy a third of the way to the moon powers substorms, sudden brightenings and rapid movements of the aurora borealis, called the Northern Lights.

The culprit turns out to be magnetic reconnection, a common process that occurs throughout the universe when stressed magnetic field lines suddenly "snap" to a new shape, like a rubber band that's been stretched too far.

"We discovered what makes the Northern Lights dance," said Dr. Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California, Los Angeles. Angelopoulos is the principal investigator for the THEMIS mission. Substorms produce dynamic changes in the auroral displays seen near Earth's northern and southern magnetic poles, causing a burst of light and movement in the Northern and Southern Lights. These changes transform auroral displays into auroral eruptions.

Substorms often accompany intense space storms that can disrupt radio communications and global positioning system signals and cause power outages. Solving the mystery of where, when, and how substorms occur will allow scientists to construct more realistic substorm models and better predict a magnetic storm’s intensity and effects.

"As they capture and store energy from the solar wind, the Earth’s magnetic field lines stretch far out into space. Magnetic reconnection releases the energy stored within these stretched magnetic field lines, flinging charged particles back toward the Earth’s atmosphere,” said David Sibeck, THEMIS project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “They create halos of shimmering aurora circling the northern and southern poles.”

Scientists directly observe the beginning of substorms using five THEMIS satellites and a network of 20 ground observatories located throughout Canada and Alaska. Launched in February 2007, the five identical satellites line up once every four days along the equator and take observations synchronized with the ground observatories. Each ground station uses a magnetometer and a camera pointed upward to determine where and when an auroral substorm will begin. Instruments measure the auroral light from particles flowing along Earth’s magnetic field and the electrical currents these particles generate.

During each alignment, the satellites capture data that allow scientists to precisely pinpoint where, when, and how substorms measured on the ground develop in space. On Feb. 26, 2008, during one such THEMIS lineup, the satellites observed an isolated substorm begin in space, while the ground-based observatories recorded the intense auroral brightening and space currents over North America.

These observations confirm for the first time that magnetic reconnection triggers the onset of substorms. The discovery supports the reconnection model of substorms, which asserts a substorm starting to occur follows a particular pattern. This pattern consists of a period of reconnection, followed by rapid auroral brightening and rapid expansion of the aurora toward the poles. This culminates in a redistribution of the electrical currents flowing in space around Earth.

THEMIS is the fifth medium-class mission under NASA’s Explorer Program. The program, managed by the Explorers Program Office at Goddard provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class space investigations in heliophysics and astrophysics. The University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory in Berkeley, Ca., managed the project development and is currently operating the THEMIS mission. ATK Space (formerly Swales Aerospace) of Beltsville, Md., built the THEMIS satellites.

The THEMIS team’s findings will appear online July 24 in Science Express and August 14 in the journal Science.

http://1-apple.com.tw/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&Sec_ID=3&ShowDate=20080726&IssueID=20080726&art_id=30790540&NewsType=1&SubSec=11
地球磁力線重排 形成極光NASA耗資60億研究成果
2008年07月26日蘋果日報

美國
【李寧怡╱綜合外電報導】美國航空暨太空總署（NASA）去年耗資2億美元（約60億元台幣）啟動THEMIS衛星任務，任務科學家前天發表階段性研究成果，宣布已透過5枚衛星觀測，發現地球磁場的磁力線重新排列，也是極光成因之一。

可預測地磁風暴
南、北極地區夜空可見大片五彩斑斕、變幻莫測的色帶，科學家已知這是大量帶電粒子釋放後，受到地球磁場拉扯並推向南北兩極而形成，其中激烈的太陽風暴與較小型的地磁亞暴都是促成大量帶電粒子釋放的原因。
過去30年來，科學家對地磁亞暴的發生機制相持不下，不過NASA科學家前天發表在《科學》（Science）期刊的報告指出，衛星觀測結果顯示，地磁亞暴的成因是在地球上方約13萬公里處，地球磁場的磁力線重新排列，產生的能量導致大量帶電離子迅速移動，因而產生亞暴。這項研究可望協助科學家找出預測地磁風暴的方法，以防範地面電網、太空中的衛星乃至太空人受到地磁風暴的嚴重傷害。

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR6/4442213.shtml
地磁亞爆引發極光
 
【世界日報╱本報綜合二十四日電訊報導】 2008.07.25 08:16 pm
 

國家航空暨太空總署24日發布北極光幕後的一些神祕面貌，指出地球磁爆促使北極光迸發壯觀的形狀和色彩，在天際舞動。

科學家早就知道極光是由太陽散發的荷電粒子與地球磁場互動所引起。太陽風暴會引發非常明亮的極光，可是在太陽活動比較平靜的時候，地磁亞爆也會引發極光，而這種現象每三、四小時就出現一次。

科學家知道地磁亞爆時，磁場尾端會發生兩種現象，可是不知道極光是由何者引發。

太空總署去年發射五枚THEMIS計畫衛星，測量地球各處電場、磁場和通過這些地方的粒子。科學家配合地面觀測，在今年2月推斷出地磁亞爆的程序。

他們發現磁場線斷裂先發生，隨後爆發極光。

THEMIS計畫調查主管說，地球環境會儲存能量，然後突然釋放，每次地磁亞爆在一、兩小時間釋出一、兩百萬安培電流，整體能量相當於規模五或六的地震。

科學家接下來將試圖了解磁場線何以斷裂。如能了解地磁亞爆，可能有助於了解地磁風暴的究竟。

地磁風暴會使人造衛星失去作用、傷害在太空軌道的太空人，並干擾地球上的電力和電訊連絡。

【2008/07/25 世界日報】

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200807/20080725772791.html
磁亞暴釋粒子壓迫大氣　北極光跳舞照亮夜空
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-07-25 14:20
   
（法新社華盛頓二十四日電）美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）今天說，地球與月亮之間的磁力爆炸，是北極光閃爍並發出波浪般光亮，為夜空增添色彩的原因。

航太總署一次發射五顆衛星的「THEMIS」（磁亞爆事件歷史進程與大規模交互作用）任務，已研究此現象一年，有助研究員揭開北極光的部分神秘面紗。

THEMIS任務的首席調查員、加州大學的安吉羅波洛斯表示：「我們發現讓北極光跳舞的原因。」

研究人員說，發生在地球與月亮之間三分之一處的磁力爆炸，讓磁亞暴獲得能量，導致北極光突然發光與迅速移動。

宇宙中常見的磁亞暴是因為磁力重新連結引起，發生磁亞暴時，受壓的磁力線突然形成新的形狀，就像過度拉扯的橡皮圈。

航太總署的馬里蘭州哥達德太空中心THEMIS計畫科學家席貝克說：「磁力重新連結，釋放出儲存在這些緊繃磁場線中的能量，將充滿電力的粒子丟回地球的大氣，產生環繞南北兩極的閃爍光環。」
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080724/sc_afp/usspaceastronomy_080724231247;_ylt=Ai9.s7.gKw3ycmXbz6M.F_fPOrgF
Magnetic energy blasts make Northern Lights 'dance': NASA

Thu Jul 24, 7:12 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Explosions of magnetic energy between Earth and the moon are behind the sparkles and wavy glows of the Northern Lights that color the night sky, NASA said Thursday.
 
A network of five satellites of a mission known as THEMIS that studied the phenomenon for a year helped researchers lift the veil from some of the mystery behind the aurora borealis.

"We discovered what makes the Northern Lights dance," said Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California, Los Angeles, the principal investigator for the THEMIS mission, which stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms.

The energy explosions that take place a third of the way between Earth and the moon power the substorms that cause the sudden brightenings and rapid movements of the northern lights, researchers said.

Substorms are triggered by magnetic reconnection, a common process that occurs throughout the universe when stressed magnetic field lines suddenly snap to a new shape, like an overstretched rubber band.

"Magnetic reconnection releases the energy stored within these stretched magnetic field lines, flinging charged particles back toward the Earth's atmosphere," said David Sibeck, THEMIS project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"They create halos of shimmering aurora circling the northern and southern poles," he said.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ostm/news/ostm-20080620.html
NASA Launches Ocean Satellite to Keep a Weather, Climate Eye Open

06.20.08

PASADENA, Calif. -- A new NASA-French space agency oceanography satellite launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change. The mission will return a vast amount of new data that will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts.

With a thunderous roar and fiery glow, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite arced through the blackness of an early central coastal California morning at 12:46 a.m. PDT, climbing into space atop a Delta II rocket. Fifty-five minutes later, OSTM/Jason 2 separated from the rocket's second stage, and then unfurled its twin sets of solar arrays. Ground controllers successfully acquired the spacecraft's signals. Initial telemetry reports show it to be in excellent health.

"Sea-level measurements from space have come of age," said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "Precision measurements from this mission will improve our knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes and enable more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts."

Measurements of sea-surface height, or ocean surface topography, reveal the speed and direction of ocean currents and tell scientists how much of the sun's energy is stored by the ocean. Combining ocean current and heat storage data is key to understanding global climate variations. OSTM/Jason 2's expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into the next decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or CNES, with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The data collection was continued by the two agencies on Jason 1 in 2001.

The mission culminates more than three decades of research by NASA and CNES in this field. This expertise will be passed on to the world's weather and environmental forecasting agencies, which will be responsible for collecting the data. The involvement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) as mission partners on OSTM/Jason 2 helps establish this proven research capability as a valuable tool for use in everyday applications.

OSTM/Jason 2's five primary instruments are improved versions of those flying on Jason 1. These technological advances will allow scientists to monitor conditions in ocean coastal regions -- home to about half of Earth's population. Compared with Jason 1 measurements, OSTM/Jason 2 will have substantially increased accuracy and provide data to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of coastlines, nearly 50 percent closer to shore than in the past. Such improvements will be welcome news for all those making their living on the sea, from sailors and fishermen to workers in offshore industries. NOAA will use the improved data to better predict hurricane intensity, which is directly affected by the amount of heat stored in the upper ocean.

OSTM/Jason 2 entered orbit about 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) below Jason 1. The new spacecraft will gradually use its thrusters to raise itself into the same 1,336-kilometer (830-mile) orbital altitude as Jason 1 and position itself to follow Jason 1's ground track, orbiting about 60 seconds behind Jason 1. The two spacecraft will fly in formation, making nearly simultaneous measurements for about six months to allow scientists to precisely calibrate OSTM/Jason 2's instruments.

Once cross-calibration is complete, Jason 1 will alter course, adjusting its orbit so that its ground tracks fall midway between those of OSTM/Jason 2. Together, the two spacecraft will double global data coverage. This tandem mission will improve our knowledge of tides in coastal and shallow seas and internal tides in the open ocean, while improving our understanding of ocean currents and eddies.

CNES is providing the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft. NASA and CNES jointly are providing the primary payload instruments. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was responsible for launch management and countdown operations for the Delta II. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/20/content_8408581.htm
美法海洋觀測衛星發射升空

2008年06月20日 17:50:57 　來源：新華網

新華網洛杉磯６月２０日電（記者高原）美國和法國用於研究海平面變化的“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”海洋觀測衛星於美國西部時間２０日凌晨搭乘一枚“德爾塔２型”火箭從美國加利福尼亞州的范登堡空軍基地成功發射升空。

美國宇航局報告說，“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”衛星發射時當地氣象條件良好。“德爾塔２型”火箭拖著一縷青煙，穿過夜空飛向預定地點。按計劃，火箭將在升空５５分鐘後與衛星分離。

“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”衛星將被定點於距地球約１３３６公裡、傾角６６度的環地球軌道上，與目前已在同一軌道中運行的“ＪＡＳＯＮ－１”衛星合作，向地面傳輸全球海平面高度、洋流流速及方向、海洋內儲存的熱量等數據，這些數據有助於提高颶風預測準確度，更準確地為船舶提供海事氣象預報。“ＪＡＳＯＮ－１”衛星於２００１年發射，它目前擔負著監測海平面的任務。

借助“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”衛星，專家還能研究地球海洋變化與氣候的關系。這項研究任務由美國宇航局、法國航天局、歐洲氣象衛星組織和美國國家海洋大氣管理局合作實施，該衛星的相關監測任務將持續３年。

“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”衛星由法國泰雷茲﹒阿萊尼亞航天公司建造，耗資４．３３億美元，重約５５３公斤。

科學界認為，由於全球變暖，近年來海平面上升速度加快。“ＪＡＳＯＮ－２”衛星有助於人們進一步認識海平面升高與全球變暖的關系。

（責任編輯: 姚潤萍 ）

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080620/sc_afp/usfrancespaceclimate_080620113128;_ylt=Akie9dd1RSP97LhqDVpbDlTPOrgF
Sea-level tracking satellite launched

by Michael Mathes
Fri Jun 20, 7:31 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A French-US satellite, which will provide the most accurate monitoring ever of rising sea levels and track the effects of climate change, was launched into orbit Friday from California.
 
A Delta 2 rocket carrying the Jason 2 satellite took off from Vandenberg Air Force base at 0746 GMT.

"All indications are that Jason 2 is operating," said NASA launch manager Omar Baez.

The rocket sent an explosive arc of light into the night sky, some 160 miles (256 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, as it launched the satellite on a three-year journey to track virtually the entire oceanic surface of Earth and extend the record of sea-level study from space to two decades.

The 1,124-pound (510-kilogram) space lab is designed to provide precise monitoring of rising sea levels and currents, which are among the most serious consequences of global warming, threatening dozens of island nations and highly populated delta regions especially in Asia and Africa.

Improved technology will allow Jason 2 to achieve a sea-level measurement accuracy of within 2.5 centimeters (one inch), compared with 3.3 centimeters (1.3 inches) for its predecessor Jason 1, NASA said.

Data from previous missions showed that sea levels have risen on average by 0.3 centimeters per year since 1993, or twice as much as they did in the whole of the 20th century, according to marine measurements.

But 15 years of data is not enough to draw accurate long-term conclusions, say scientists.

The latest mission will help create the first multi-decade global record of the role of the ocean in climate change, according to scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

It will also provide more accurate forecasts of seasonal weather patterns, and near real-time data on ocean conditions.

"Without this data record, we would have no basis for evaluating change," said the mission's project scientist, Lee-Lueng Fu, in a statement.

Fu compared the sea level record begun in 1992 with the continuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide initiated in the 1950s at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

"The Mauna Loa data proved that carbon dioxide levels were indeed rising as had been predicted, and they were the basis for our understanding of the greenhouse effect," Fu said.

"The height of the ocean is another fundamental measurement of our climate. The key is to have rigorous, well-calibrated data collected over a long period of time."

The oceans, major storehouses for heat from the sun, act as the planet's thermostat. They absorb more than 80 percent of the heat from global warming, with the rest absorbed by the atmosphere, land and glaciers, NASA scientists have found.

Warming water and melting ice are the two main factors contributing to rising sea levels.

The satellite will map the surface of 95 percent of Earth's ice-free oceans every 10 days.

It will also provide more accurate forecasts of seasonal weather patterns, and near real-time data on ocean conditions.

The OSTM/Jason 2 mission is a partnership between the US space agency NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the French National Center of Space Studies (CNES) and the European satellite agency EUMETSAT.

Fifty-five minutes after lift-off, the rocket separated from the spacecraft as Jason 2 reached its orbit of some 830 miles (1,335 kilometers) above the Earth.

NASA TV provided a unique view of the separation, with a mounted camera beaming back live pictures of the satellite slowly drifting away into the void.

"It was a beautiful picture from the 'rocket-cam'," launch manager Baez said.

The satellite then deployed its solar panels and oriented them toward the Sun to charge its batteries ahead of a series of instrumental tests.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/20/content_8401951.htm
美法擬聯合發射衛星監控海平面變化

2008年06月20日 07:04:36 　來源：新華網

美國和法國計劃２０日發射一顆衛星，用以研究海平面變化。

美國www.space.com網站報道說，這顆衛星命名為“Jason ２”，造價４．３３億美元。按照計劃，“Jason ２”將和已在軌道中運行的“Jason　１”衛星“合作”，監控地球海平面變化。

“Jason　１”２００１年發射升空，眼下擔負著監控海平面的任務。

“Jason　２”項目負責人帕拉格﹒瓦澤說，兩顆衛星將對全球范圍內的海平面高度進行“精確”測量。

兩顆衛星預計將傳回全球海平面高度、洋流流速及方向、海洋內儲存的熱量等數據。美國國家海洋和大氣管理局說，這些數據有助於提高颶風預測準確度。

“Jason　２”定於美國東部時間２０日凌晨從美國加利福尼亞州的范登堡空軍基地發射升空。（新華社電）

（責任編輯: 李志強 ）

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080620/sc_afp/usfrancespaceclimatelaunch_080620090134;_ylt=AiogG5U.3t_2BTfBTzXqaNTPOrgF
French-US Jason 2 satellite blasts off: NASA

Fri Jun 20, 5:01 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The French-US oceanographic monitoring satellite Jason 2, designed to measure rising sea levels and track the effects of climate change, was successfully launched into space Friday, NASA said.
 
"Lift-off of the Delta 2 (rocket), with Jason 2 for the ocean survey topography mission, measuring sea level from space," a NASA official announced moments after the 0746 GMT launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force base.

"Everything is going according to the... flight path," a second official said minutes after the liquid-oxygen-fueled rocket sent an explosive arc of light into the night sky, some 160 miles (256 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Jason 2 is a high-tech oceanography space lab designed to provide precise monitoring of rising sea levels and currents, which are among the most serious consequences of global warming, threatening dozens of island nations and highly populated delta regions especially in Asia and Africa.

The OSTM/Jason 2 mission is a partnership between the US space agency NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the French National Center of Space Studies (CNES) and the European satellite agency EUMETSAT.

Fifty-five minutes after lift-off, with the rocket and rocket boosters separated from the spacecraft, Jason 2 was to reach its orbit of some 830 miles (1,335 kilometers) above the Earth.

It then deploys its solar panels and orients them toward the Sun to charge its batteries ahead of a series of instrumentation preparations and tests.

Jason 2 is programmed to maneuver into the same orbit as its predecessor Jason 1, which was launched in 2001, and eventually replace the older craft.

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200806/20080612929577.html
NASA發射伽瑪射線望遠鏡　希望破解宇宙奧秘
法新社╱張仲琬 2008-06-12 13:50     
 
 
（法新社華盛頓十一日電）美國航空暨太空總署（NASA）今天將高科技「伽瑪射線大區域太空望遠鏡」（GLAST）發射入軌道後，天文學家有望能揭開宇宙伽瑪射線的神秘面紗、看到更深處的宇宙及其起源。

NASA表示，裝載GLAST的兩節式戴爾他二型火箭升空七十五分鐘後，GLAST順利進入地球上方五百六十五公里處軌道。

NASA表示，一個追蹤火箭軌跡與傳遞飛行資料的工作站發生技術小故障，導致火箭延遲發射，直到台灣時間今天凌晨零時五分才從美國加州卡納維爾角空軍基地升空，較預定時間晚二十分鐘。

重達四點三公噸的GLAST上裝有監看設備，能偵測宇宙物體散發的伽瑪射線。伽瑪射線是能量最大的光線，科學家希望能夠藉此射線之助，洞悉黑洞形成等宇宙重要事件。

GLAST的任務還包括，協尋解釋脈衝星這種奇特磁中子星的線索。　　

GLAST研究宇宙中光子與其他次原子粒子的同時，也許還能解開暗物質的神祕面紗。宇宙約有二成五的成分由這種肉眼無法辨識的暗物質組成，而人類視力可及的部分則佔百分之五。

其餘的七成，稱為「暗能量」。目前人類對此種現象幾乎毫無理解，不過一般認為，暗能量是加速宇宙擴張之因。

NASA指出，科學家希望獲得宇宙誕生與進化的重要資訊，並研究出黑洞能以驚人速度噴吐氣體的原理。

這項計畫集結美國、法國、德國、義大利、日本與瑞典等國的政府及學者之力，預計將進行五至十年。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080611/sc_afp/usspacetelescopeglast_080611204839;_ylt=AkZgo26oGE5g8ztqtI6_JyzPOrgF
New telescope launched to canvass the cosmos

by Jean-Louis Santini
Wed Jun 11, 4:48 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Astronomers will get a chance to unveil the mysteries of cosmic gamma rays and look deeper into the universe and its origins after NASA launched the high-tech GLAST telescope into orbit Wednesday.
 
The Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope reached orbit 565 kilometers (350 miles) above the Earth around 75 minutes after the launch aboard a two-stage Delta 2 missile from the air force base at Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA said.

The satellite rocketed up at 1605 GMT, 20 minutes behind schedule due to a technical glitch at one of the stations that track the trajectory and relay flight data, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

The 4.3 tonne GLAST is outfitted with equipment to monitor gamma rays -- the highest-energy forms of light -- from cosmic sources that they hope will give insight into major events such as the formation of black holes.

It is also aimed at hunting for clues to explain the strange magnetized neutron stars known as pulsars.

By studying photons and other subatomic particles of the cosmos, the telescope may also unlock the mysteries of dark matter, which comprises about 25 percent of mass in the universe but is invisible to the naked eye, compared with the five percent of visible matter.

The remaining 70 percent is known as "dark energy," a little understood phenomenon which is believed to speed the expansion of the universe.

Scientists hope to gain vital information about the birth and evolution of the cosmos and study how black holes can spew jets of gas at stupendous speeds, according to NASA.

The project, which brings together governments and academic researchers in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden, is aimed to last between five and 10 years.

"GLAST will give us a spectacular high-energy gamma-ray vision," deputy project scientist David Thompson said Tuesday, before the launch.

"There's a broad science community that's anxiously awaiting this launch," said Steven Ritz, a GLAST project scientist and astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

"It's about to open up the universe to us in new and exciting ways," in particular the "last unexplored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum," Ritz said.

GLAST is a major advance over its predecessor EGRET, which was aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory launched by NASA in 1991. GLAST should be able to make certain observations in mere days that took EGRET four full years.

In its first year, GLAST will focus on mapping the heavens with an unprecedented optical sensitivity that should allow it to discover between 5,000 and 10,000 sources of gamma rays, experts said.

The facility also features the GLAST Burst Monitor, or GBM, equipped to observe gamma-ray bursts, believed to be caused by the collapse of rapidly spinning black holes. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful and luminous explosions in the universe since the Big Bang.

The cost of the mission, including the launch, is 690 million dollars, of which 600 million is funded by the United States.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080610/sc_afp/usspacetelescopeglast_080610142227;_ylt=Av.7vZEYogjTcjH.hj57c83POrgF
GLAST telescope to open new window on the universe

by Jean-Louis Santini
Tue Jun 10, 10:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A hi-tech telescope NASA plans to launch on Wednesday hopes to fling open a new window on the Universe, exploring extreme sources of gamma-rays that point to powerful and exotic phenomena.

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, will search for energy blasts that point to black holes and other beasts, and hunt for clues to explain the strange, magnetized neutron stars known as pulsars.

The telescope may also unlock the mysteries of dark matter, which comprises about 25 percent of mass in the Universe but is invisible to the naked eye, compared with the five percent of visible matter.

The remaining 70 percent is known as "dark energy," a little understood phenomenon which is believed to speed the expansion of the Universe.

Scientists hope to gain vital information about the birth and evolution of the cosmos and study how black holes can spew jets of gas at stupendous speeds, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

"GLAST will give us a spectacular high-energy gamma-ray vision," GLAST deputy project scientist David Thompson told a press conference.

"The Universe looks remarkably different outside the narrow range of colors in the spectrum that we can see with our eyes."

The telescope will be blasted into space aboard a Delta II rocket scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 11, starting at 1515 GMT.

It will be placed into a relatively low orbit, around 565 kilometers (350 miles) above the Earth.

GLAST will be used in a project lasting between five and 10 years aimed at examining gamma-ray phenomena in closer detail than before.

"There's a broad science community that's anxiously awaiting this launch," said Steven Ritz, a GLAST project scientist and astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

"It's about to open up the Universe to us in new and exciting ways," in particular the "last unexplored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum," Ritz said.

Most astrophysical phenomena cannot be spotted with human vision.

Through gamma-ray eyes, though, "the Milky Way would be a brilliant swath of light, and you would see a sky constantly changing with objects dimming and brightening on different times scales, Thompson said.

GLAST is a major advance over its predecessor EGRET, which was aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory launched by NASA in 1991. GLAST should be able to make certain observations in mere days that took EGRET four full years.

In its first year, GLAST will focus on mapping the heavens with unprecedented optical sensitivity that should allow it to discover between 5,000 and 10,000 sources of gamma rays, experts said.

The facility also features the GLAST Burst Monitor, or GBM, equipped to observe gamma-ray bursts, believed to be caused by the collapse of rapidly spinning black holes. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful and luminous explosions in the universe since the Big Bang.

The project brings together governments and academic researchers in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden.

The cost of the mission, including the launch, is 690 million dollars, of which 600 million is funded by the United States.